Dr Andy Ferguson, IDEALS Project Manager and Medical Advisor recommended that we should conduct a survey of the New Bedadi children and the results were very interesting:
Based on WHO/UNICEF guidelines the survey was conducted on 21st and 22nd May 2007, assessing all children at the Bedadi site under the age of 12 years.
The prevalence of anaemia is very high, particularly in those children aged one to five years. Three children (5%) were severely anaemic, with haemoglobin levels less than 7 gm/dl.
Other Key Results
- Only three children (5%) presented with an acute lower respiratory tract infection.
- Only one child (2%) presented with an acute diarrhoeal illness.
- Five children (9%) presented with an acute febrile illness, but malaria was not suspected in any case.
- Six children (11%) showed evidence of poor oro-dental hygiene, with minimal evidence of dental caries.
- Three children (5%) showed evidence of scabies, and five (9%) showed evidence of other skin diseases (primarily fungal infections).
- Four children (7%) demonstrated significant impairment of visual acuity (6/12 or less using an E Type Snellen Chart) in both eyes.
- Excluding hepatitis B, 86% of children were up to date with their vaccinations, judged against the WHO recommended schedule for Pakistan.
- 54 children (96%) require initiation/completion of their three dose hepatitis B course (should be given at one, two and three months old).
- No children showed evidence of xerophthalmia (vitamin A deficiency eye disease), but there is a general need for WHO/UNICEF recommended routine vitamin A supplementation.
- Every family was using iodised salt.
- Helminth (worm) infestation is endemic: primarily threadworm and roundworm, but with hookworm also prevalent.
In response to these result IDEALS has commissioned a child health programme to address these problems and will further survey the children throughout the building programme.
Wed 10 Oct 2007